Free Shipping Goodies (including a Doll Comparison)

So, my evil influence has spread like wildfire.  My mom succumbed to the free shipping offer from American Girl and bought her first brand-new AG doll! :D  After debating for a while, she decided on Ruthie, because Ruthie's coloring is very similar to mine and my mom's.

Mom's package got here today, and she was sweet enough to come over to my house so I could share the excitement of opening Ruthie's box!  Also, as an added bonus, I decided to order the mini holiday Samantha doll for Tess since my mom was spending enough to get free shipping! :)  So, an already great day got even more fun! :)

So here are some pics of the exciting event:

THE BOX!!

First view...another AG catalog.

Our first glimpse of Ruthie!!

The loot:  Ruthie, a new hairbrush (my mom's old doll brush is completely falling apart!), and my mini Sam.

Ruthie out of the box.  Such a beauty! :)

Here's my mini Samantha! Tess will be so excited! :D

My mom loves her new doll!  Here are a few close-ups of lovely Ruthie: 

I've been curious for a while to compare Ruthie and Emma (my My AG #41) next to each other to see the differences.  Since Ruthie was over for a visit, I figured I'd seize the opportunity and take a few pics of the girls together. :)

Please excuse the messy curls!!  I didn't have much of a chance to work on Emma's hair before this photo shoot, and I was too paranoid to do anything with Ruthie's, as she was brand new! :}

Two beautiful girls. :)

As you can see, there are several differences between them. Emma (on the right) has feathered eyebrows, while Ruthie's (on the left) are a single line. Emma's eyes are green and small; Ruthie's eyes are grey and wider (I think it gives her more of a "Disney" look). ;) Ruthie's face seems to be a little rounder than Emma's, too. I should probably add here that my Emma's eyebrows are unique in that they are painted higher than the eyebrows on most AG dolls. It doesn't bother me...I think it adds to her unique personality. I just wanted to point this out. Not all #41s have eyebrows like this. And yes, I realize that in the pics below Ruthie's pic is a little closer than Emma's...I'm not perfect, you know. ;)

Here's a pic showing the difference in their parts.  Their parts are exactly opposite from one another.

In these pics, you can see the difference in hair color.  Ruthie (on the left) has more of a reddish brown color, while Emma (on the right) has hair that is almost black.  She does have faint reddish highlights, but they don't even seem to show up next to Ruthie.

More random pics: 

I found it fascinating seeing these two side by side.  While I LOVE my Emma doll, I have to admit that Ruthie is very stunning, too.  I think they'd make great sisters!  Ruthie will probably end up being Emma and Charlie's cousin that lives at my mom's house. :) 

So, what do you think?  Which one do you like better?

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I also wanted to take a few close-up shots of my cute mini Samantha.  She is so adorable!  I would highly recommend her to those of you still debating whether to go for the holiday minis. ;)

Hope you enjoyed the pics!  Did anyone else give in and buy something with the free shipping code?

Emma the Fashion Queen :)

Hi guys!  My camera battery is all charged, so I just took some great pics of Emma in all of her outfits.  Hope you enjoy them! :)

Here's the outfit she came in, as you saw from the pics yesterday.

Here's the new My AG meet outfit.  Lavender and purple are really good colors for her!

Don't look too close at this pic...after I took it, I realized that it looks like she has a hair sticking right up her nose! :}

And here (drum roll please) is Emma's Liberty Jane outfit!  I must say, I love all of the clothes Nora sent, but this outfit is my favorite!  I think it's because it's so unique.  It just made her personality jump out at me! :)

 

I put the silver ribbon in her hair as a headband...it looks pretty cute!  I don't know how well you can see it, but Emma has some very faint reddish brown highlights in her hair (which is really cool, because I do too).  :)

Emma with her special teddy bear...yet to be named. :)

I laughed so hard when I found this Scrabble tile pendant!  Like I said before, I'm still working on her personality, but I knew that her favorite book was going to be "Emma" by Jane Austen.  With all of the "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob" stuff around, I thought this necklace would be perfect for her.  And I quite agree...I'd take Mr. Knightley over Edward or Jacob any day! :)

I also gave her this pretty rose charm that I got through Disney Movie Rewards after I bought "Beauty and the Beast" on Blu-ray and DVD.  I know she's going to like "Beauty and the Beast" and "Tangled". :)

My beautiful Emma. :) 

Introducing Emma Grace! :)

Hi everyone!  Well, it's the moment you've all been waiting for.  My hubby ended up working really late (I think he felt bad for making me wait so long), but as soon as he got home and the kids were in bed, we opened up Emma's box! :)  [Editorial note:  we're not big meanies, I just didn't think that opening a new AG doll in front of the girls right before bedtime would be conducive to sleep! :}]  If, by some miracle, you happen to be reading this post and have no clue what I'm talking about, check out my two earlier posts and you'll be all caught up. :)

I have to say, this doll is sooo beautiful!  Pictures don't do her justice.  If any of you are thinking about adding a #41 to your collection, I would highly recommend her.  I still can't stop looking at her...she's just so gorgeous!! :)  Thank you so much, Nora!! :)  Be sure to check out Nora's wonderful blog:  The Doll Wardrobe.

And now, for the pics you've been waiting for so patiently.  Unfortunately, my camera batteries died before I could take all of the pics I wanted, so there will be a follow up post or two after this where Emma models all of her outfits.  My hubby and I got pics of everything Nora sent, though, so don't worry. :)

Tess and Maggie were eager to meet the newest member of our doll family. :)

FINALLY opening the box that's been in my house all day!!

I can't tell you how excited I was at this exact moment, when I was just about to see her for the first time.  I'm sure all of you AG doll collectors out there know exactly how I felt, though. :)

Seeing her for the first time...Tess and Maggie were impatient for me to turn the box around.

Here she is!!!!

A box full of goodies. :)

A close-up of her pretty face.

She had this cute silver ribbon in her hair.

What a sweetie! :)

Tess and Maggie welcome Emma to the family. (It's funny, I didn't notice where the snowman's head was until after I took the pic...see him in the AG box?)

So here's a shot of everything Nora sent:  the Just Like You star hoodie outfit, the My AG meet outfit, the purple top and grey skinny jeans from Liberty Jane Clothing, a "Fun With Your Doll" book, a little pamphlet with a mini AG magazine to make, some hair ribbons, an Innerstar U code and charm necklace, 3 extra Innerstar U charms, an ADORABLE Marriot mini teddy bear, and a cute little container.  Here are close-ups of everything:

There are three of these, like I said.  I just didn't include the 3rd one in this pic. :)

This bear was so soft.  I think he's going to be Emma's favorite stuffed animal! :)

Well, that's about it! I'll leave you with some parting shots of Emma close up.  Like I said earlier, I'm planning on doing a follow-up post with Emma modeling her other outfits.  I'm also working on her personality profile, too, so I'll share that with you when I have it all figured out. :)  Yay!!  I'm so excited! :)

I LOVE her with her hair down!  :)